The Democrat on Monday decried criticism of his governing efforts during a forum for students at Suffolk University’s Rappaport Center. But he says that “seems like child’s play compared to what’s going on in Washington.”

He says partisanship in the capital “is almost at the level of sedition,” or bordering on insurrection. He mocks Republicans by saying, “If the president says ‘up,’ we will say ‘down.'”

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The governor later called his sedition comment a “rhetorical flourish.”

The Republican National Committee hasn’t returned messages seeking a response to his remarks.